Her Nightmare
by TheRealER
Summary: Tony comes in to sleep from a pretty hard day of work, only to find long-time love Kenzie, in a bit of a nightmarish situation. ..Literally. A repost of the original reader insert: /art/Tony-x-Reader-Her-Nightmare-412218573 Yes, I am the author. Don't worry! xD


Tony opened the door to his bedroom very quietly, attempting to enter the room as silently as possible.

As in, "like a- lika a- like a ninja?" silently.

He'd holed himself up in the lab all day, and apparently most of the night. He was working on a sort of emergency exo-suit in case Kenzie needed protection or just wanted to help him kick butt. He was debating on whether to call it Iron Woman or the Iron Maiden. It was going to be a birthday present, or a Christmas present…he just couldn't decide.

Slowly he tip-toed across the room, and successfully reached the bathroom attached to the bedroom. He sighed relieved, and proceeded to change into his tank top and sweats. Nothing could have felt more comfortable at that moment.

But just as he began to walk back to his bed, he heard someone whimper. He froze. It sounded like Kenzie…? She whimpered again, then sobbed, jerking in the bed.

It took two seconds to reach her.

"Kenzie. Kenzie? Kenzie, wake up. You're having a nightmare. Kenzie, wake up! Kenzie!" He urged worriedly, shaking her shoulder trying to wake her up. After a minute she stirred, then shot awake, screaming. Immediately he took her into his arms, feeling her shake and sob.

"Shh, Kenzie…shh, it's alright…it was just a nightmare. Nothing happened." He coaxed, rocking her back and forth as she clung to his top. The tears dripping onto him made him feel worse than before. Slowly, he raised himself into the bed, pulling her onto his lap as she cried into his neck now.

"Sweetheart, calm down…it was just a dream, you're okay. You're okay." He soothed, feeling her finally begin to slow down, feeling her breathing calm and the tears stop. Tony sighed, once again, in relief.

"Kenzie? Hey, honey…do you want to talk about what you saw?" He asked carefully, pulling her away enough to realize that she had fallen asleep again.

_'__What am I going to do with this girl?' _He asked himself half-jokingly as he lowered her back down next to him. He laid down as well, but held her in his arms securely, almost as if he could protect her from the nightmares if he did.

"Don't worry, Kenzie…I'll hold onto you and make sure you don't have anymore bad dreams." He whispered into her hair before he, too, drifted off to sleep.

~*~*~

When Tony awoke the next morning, he felt like crap. And also realized (Name) wasn't pressed against his chest. Or on the bed, or in the room. But he did smell the faint scent of coffee and pancakes not too far away, so he had a pretty good idea of where she went.

"Oh, hey, sweetheart! Good morning!" She said cheerfully as he appeared in the doorway. Her smile faded though when she noticed the bags under his eyes and his disorientation.

"Tony? Are you okay? Did you get any sleep last night?" He nodded slowly as he sat down on one of the bar stools across from where she cooked.

"Sort of, yes…I was just making sure that you weren't going to have anymore nightmares all night, so I kept waking up to make sure you were okay. Think I fell asleep around three or four, though." He said, resting his chin in his hand. Kenzie looked up at him in confusion.

"Tony, what are you talking about? I haven't had any nightmares. I sleep perfectly fine every night." He scoffed grumpily. He couldn't help it. He only got two hours of sleep, give or take.

"Yeah, well, I would believe you if I hadn't seen you freaking out last night."

"'Freaking out'?" She asked. He nodded seriously, searching her eyes for some sort of clue. Nada.

"Um, yeah, you were just starting to cry and move around, is all. You woke up for a little while, but I'm guessing you don't really remember that." She began to agree, but froze mid-nod.

"No, wait, I remember what it was!" She cried, almost triumphantly.

"That's not something I would be proud of, Kenzie."

"Oh, hush, you. … I'm pretty sure it was about me just laying in bed, and then waking up, all alone. I remember that I start running around, looking for you, but I can't…then I just end up falling into blackness. Then I wake up, I suppose. Scared the heck out of me the first time." Tony looked up again.

"The 'first time'?" She nodded, pushing a plate of breakfast yummies towards him.

"Mm, yeah, well, I've been having that dream- er, nightmare, for a little while now. I'm not sure when it started, though…maybe it was when you started to work later in your lab and I had to go to bed alone…I don't really recall, but I feel really lonely when I have to go to sleep without you."

"…So you feel neglected? Or at least, your mind does, to the point that you're subconsciously inducing nightmares about me being gone permanently."

"Something like that, yes."

Tony made a mental note to get to bed on time from now on.

"…I like it when you start using big words. You sound so scientific, unlike how you normally are." Tony cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh, really? What are you trying to say? That I normally sound stupid?" (Name) smiled mischievously, leaning over the counter that was keeping them apart.

"Not exactly, but you just sound so sexy when you talk like that, Tony." She purred, giving him a playful kiss before turning around. She could practically feel him staring at her.

"I'm going back to bed, sweetheart. You coming or what?" She asked, swinging her hips and blowing a kiss. She could have sworn she saw the bar stool go flying backwards.

"Well, it _is _a husband's job to join his wife in bed, so what do you think?" Kenzie laughed as he followed after her quickly, shutting the door behind them and flopping onto the bed next to her.

"Well hey there, hot stuff."

"Hey hey, slightly-less-hot stuff." She scoffed, pressing a forceful kiss onto him, which he happily received.

"Oh, please. We both know who's more attractive here. It's me."

"Whaaat? Don't you lie to me!"

"I can prove it, though! Wanna see?"

"…Why not?"

~Epilogue~

It was around 10:00 p.m. when Kenzie finally shuffled into the bedroom again. Her long black t-shirt hung loose around her body, accompanied by her favorite pair of boxers that didn't belong to Tony. She nearly slipped in her footie socks when she realized Tony was already in the bed.

"Tony! Why are you in bed so early?"

"Early? I'm on time, aren't I?" He asked, a grin on his face. She giggled, sliding into the bed next to him. "I told myself that I wouldn't let you have nightmares anymore, and so I made a mental note to get in bed on time so I could be with you. Then I can protect you from the bad dreams."

"And I'll feel less neglected in my head, right?"

"Exactly." He kissed her on the nose, making her giggle again. Then she sighed, looking up at him as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Are you sure that you'll be able to keep the nightmares away?"

"Absolutely positive, Kenz."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Promise?"

"Promise…"

"Pinky promise?"

"Ugh, I'm not a kid, Kenzie, but _yes _, I pinky promise." He looped his finger around hers.

"Yay. Good night, Tony, I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart. Good night."

…

…

…

…

…

"Do you absolutely, positively, one hundred percent-"

"HOLY CRAP YES KENZIE, I PROMISE. NOW GO TO SLEEP!"


End file.
